The Problem of Ethical Ideals in Hellenistic Philosophy and in Psychoanalysis

Abstract: Hellenistic philosophy invites comparison with psychoanalysis. The aim of its leading currents, Epicureanism and Stoicism, was explicitly therapeutic—to enable individuals to lead a good life. Pursuing this comparison, Freud may be regarded as a successor to Epicureanism because of his hedonistic theory of motivation, his materialistic outlook, and his critique of religion. However, both Epicureanism and classical Freudianism are faced with the problem of explaining how individuals can be motivated to pursue higher ethical and cultural ideals. In this regard the Stoic critique of Epicureanism reveals parallels with later developments in psychoanalytical theory, such as the work of Klein, Winnicott, and Hans Loewald. The work of Loewald is a special interest in this context, since he strives to give a coherent account of the problematic psychoanalytic concept of “sublimation,” which is often employed in attempts to explain the redirection of psychic energy toward higher goals. Loewald’s attendant challenge to the materialism and objectivism of much psychoanalytic theory suggests that writers such as Stephen Greenblatt, who emphasize only the affinities between Epicureanism and the modern world outlook, fail to tell the full story.